The graphics in X-Wing Alliance are well done, but not outstanding in today's market. Everything is textured, and you can even make out pilots in their cockpits from outside. Nearby planets and distant nebulae liven up most missions. But somehow these astronomical features fail to give a good sense of their immense size. The cockpits are well drawn and make you feel like you're in the ship. One great thing is this: when you fly by a large ship, the textures look much like the skins of the models from the movie. TIE Fighters, X-Wings, and the Millennium Falcon never looked so good on your computer! It is all a huge improvement over the X-Wing and TIE Fighter, and a welcome improvement over X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter. Sadly, there is no bump mapping. It would be truly cool if all those bumps and protrusion on ships were done in 3D as opposed to being drawn into texture maps.

The best looking parts of the game are the cut scenes. What the regular game lacks in detail, the cut scenes have in spades. As a star destroyer passes, you feel in your gut how immensely huge it is. Ships have incredible detail. There are nice touches too. Look for what's painted on the side of your brother's ship (the one that look's like Boba Fett's). The opening sequence is the best cut scene. It reminds us of the opening credits to Deep Space Nine. The space station actually looks like a gigantic Quake symbol. Sadly, the rest of the cut scenes are not as well done.

One amazing part of X-Wing Alliance is the sound. Lasers sound just like lasers. Proton torpedoes sound exactly how you think they should. (Did you know that the howl of a passing TIE Fighter is actually modeled after the sound made by World War I fighters? And not only that, the space battles from the films were actually modeled after World War I film footage from the noses of aircraft! Just thought you might need to know that…) Enemies flying by sound just like they ought to. Of course, we mean that they sound just like in the movie. We know that today's lasers don't make sound. Oh, and don't forget that proton torpedoes don't actually exist (as much as we'd like them to). And we shouldn't forget that, in space, nobody can hear you scream. But it is a game dammit! And it is exactly the sound you expect and demand in a Star Wars game. As you would expect, everything is done in 3D spatial sound. When someone fires a near miss, you know where the shots went by you. This is a standard feature in almost every current game, so it is nothing special.

Every mission briefing is read to you by an appropriate character. Sadly, the actors do a mediocre job. There are also in-flight conversations between various characters. They tell you what needs to be done next as well as taunt, argue, beg, and finally scream for help before biting the big one in flaming space coffins. This in-flight dialogue manages to meld action and plot in an interesting way. You will get drawn into the intricate plot.